Jerry Seib: Immigration Battle Divides Republicans

Divisions among Republicans have flared over what to do about President Obama’s executive actions on immigration. WSJ’s Jerry Seib explains what this could mean. Photo: AP

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... it's a crisis brewing in Washington over the funding of important government agency the Department of Homeland security ... in the first instance this crisis separates present Obama and Republicans in Congress but increasingly it's also creating divisions ... among Republicans within Congress as well ... here's what's going on at the end of last year the Republicans in Congress declined to fund the Homeland Security partner ... for the entire year is they wanted to use that funding as a lever to try to stop President Obama for moving out and is known ... to relax immigration rules and procedures of which the Republicans objected to mightily ... its funding runs out in less than three weeks at the end of February ... in the House recently passed a bill that funds an apartment but as a condition of that funding strips out the president's authority to make those changes in immigration policy on asylum ... that bills going to the Senate three times Republicans in the Senate have tried to pass the Democrats there have blocked it ... and Senate Republicans say to themselves and say to their colleagues on the House side ... we've done all week and we can't do anymore the ball is in your court ... the implication being and now maybe House Republicans will have to fall back ... drop their immigration provisions and fund the Department of Homeland Security without any conditions attacks ... House Republicans seem disinclined to do that their view is we passed a bill ... Senate should do something about it ... so this kind of a standoff right now between ... Republicans in the House Republicans in the Senate ... will see how the guesswork out in coming days ... but it's dreaded word shutdown is now floating around Washington again not shut down the entire government which is what we've been dealt with in the last couple years but shutdown of one import an agency within the government the Homeland Security Department ...